| The purpose of this research is to develop a finite element analysis tool to simulate the behavior of MEMS-technology strapdown gyroscopes. It required the development of an in-house code to provide all of the necessary analysis capabilities. This involved extensive enhancement of an existing in-house code, called BAMAFEM. Specifically, it is necessary to correctly model piezoelectric thin films subjected to electric fields applied in the perpendicular direction. Additional capabilities needed and implemented were both iterative and out-of-core equation solvers for large problems, the ability to solve eigenproblems, and the ability to compute dynamic; response. The theory and methods of implementation to accomplish each of these is presented. Results were compared to theory and to solutions available from commercial finite element codes. Additional numerical results were compared to experimental results to verify the developed simulation tools.; The developed finite element code can be used to solve 2D and 3D structural system static problems, 3D structural system modal analysis, and dynamic response analysis applications. Also, it is a valuable tool to predict the performance for designs for MEMS-gyroscopes and other MEMS devices. |
